2019 Ladbrokes UK Open Field

Gary Anderson (Chris Dean, PDC)

GARY ANDERSON will make his return to action as he defends the Ladbrokes UK Open title at the Butlin's Minehead Resort from March 1-3.

Two-time World Champion Anderson has not competed for almost two months and withdrew from both The Masters and the Premier League to continue treatment for a long-standing back problem.

However, the Scot is set to make his first competitive appearance of 2019 on Friday in Minehead after being confirmed amongst the competitors for the UK Open.

Under a new structure for the unique, multi-board event - which is broadcast live on ITV4 - PDC Tour Card Holders receive automatic entry into the UK Open, with only Australia's Corey Cadby missing out in Minehead next weekend.

Those 127 players are joined by 16 qualifiers from the 2018 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit and 16 Rileys Amateur Qualifiers.

The first round draw will see the Tour Card Holders ranked from 96-127 joined by the Challenge Tour qualifiers and Rileys Amateur Qualifiers, with one player to receive a Bye.

The players ranked from 65-96 will enter in the second round, with the players ranked from 33-64 coming in at the third round stage.

The world's top 32 - including Anderson, World Champion Michael van Gerwen and former UK Open champions Raymond van Barneveld, James Wade, Adrian Lewis and Peter Wright - come into the event in Friday evening's fourth round.

The draw for the first three rounds will be made on Monday February 25.

From the conclusion of the third round onwards, an open draw will be made - meaning that leading players could clash at any stage in a tournament dubbed "The FA Cup of Darts".

2019 Ladbrokes UK Open Field
Players 1-32 - Enter in Fourth Round

1 Michael van Gerwen
2 Rob Cross
3 Peter Wright
4 Gary Anderson
5 Daryl Gurney
6 Michael Smith
7 Gerwyn Price
8 Mensur Suljovic
9 James Wade
10 Simon Whitlock
11 Dave Chisnall
12 Ian White
13 Darren Webster
14 Joe Cullen
15 Jonny Clayton
16 Adrian Lewis
17 Stephen Bunting
18 Mervyn King
19 John Henderson
20 Steve West
21 Kyle Anderson
22 Steve Beaton
23 Kim Huybrechts
24 Jermaine Wattimena
25 James Wilson
26 Jamie Lewis
27 Alan Norris
28 Jelle Klaasen
29 Raymond van Barneveld
30 Max Hopp
31 Benito van de Pas
32 Cristo Reyes

Players 33-64 - Enter in Third Round
33 Dimitri Van den Bergh
34 Nathan Aspinall
35 Chris Dobey
36 Steve Lennon
37 Vincent van der Voort
38 Keegan Brown
39 Richard North
40 Robert Thornton
41 Brendan Dolan
42 Justin Pipe
43 Jeffrey de Zwaan
44 Danny Noppert
45 Jan Dekker
46 William O'Connor
47 Ricky Evans
48 Martin Schindler
49 Toni Alcinas
50 Ryan Searle
51 Ryan Joyce
52 Ron Meulenkamp
53 Krzysztof Ratajski
54 Josh Payne
55 James Richardson
56 Luke Humphries
57 Mark Webster
58 Christian Kist
59 Gabriel Clemens
60 Devon Petersen
61 Zoran Lerchbacher
62 Ronny Huybrechts
63 Mickey Mansell
64 Alan Tabern

Players 65-96 - Enter in Second Round
65 Ross Smith
66 Matthew Edgar
67 Simon Stevenson
68 Robert Owen
69 Wayne Jones
70 Robert Marijanovic
71 Adam Hunt
72 Kevin Burness
73 Glen Durrant
74 Luke Woodhouse
75 Ryan Meikle
76 Dirk van Duijvenbode
77 Tytus Kanik
78 Bradley Brooks
79 Arron Monk
80 Peter Hudson
81 Davy Van Baelen
82 Dawson Murschell
83 Vincent Kamphuis
84 Mario Robbe
85 Jose Justicia
86 Mark Wilson
87 Ryan Harrington
88 Mark Dudbridge
89 George Killington
90 Scott Baker
91 Gary Eastwood
92 Gavin Carlin
93 John Goldie
94 Tony Newell
95 Harry Ward
96 Andy Boulton

Players 97-127 - Enter in First Round
97 Eddie Dootson
98 Ted Evetts
99 Darius Labanauskas
100 Terry Temple
101 Jose de Sousa
102 Jamie Hughes
103 Mark McGeeney
104 Rowby-John Rodriguez
105 Carl Wilkinson
106 Jonathan Worsley
107 David Pallett
108 Nathan Derry
109 Kirk Shepherd
110 Barrie Bates
111 Maik Kuivenhoven
112 John Michael
113 Adrian Gray
114 Madars Razma
115 Yordi Meeuwisse
116 Conan Whitehead
117 Geert Nentjes
118 Matt Clark
119 Vincent van der Meer
120 Joe Murnan
121 Reece Robinson
122 Niels Zonneveld
123 Christian Bunse
124 Jamie Bain
125 Marko Kantele
126 Michael Barnard
127 Mike van Duivenbode

2018 PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour Order of Merit Qualifiers - Enter in First Round
Cody Harris
Cameron Menzies
Martin Atkins (Wigan)
Dennis Nilsson
David Evans
Simon Preston
Adam Huckvale
Michael Rasztovits
Jason Cullen
Diogo Portela
Jarred Cole
Mark Frost
Matthew Dennant
Darren Beveridge
John Davey
Lee Budgen

Rileys Amateur Qualifiers - Enter in First Round
Michael Burgoine (London Victoria)
Shaun Fox (Norwich)
Lee Harris (Wolverhampton)
Scott Taylor (Chester)
Wes Newton (Chorlton)
Mark Barilli (Greenock)
Kevin Thoburn (Nottingham)
Lloyd Browning (Worcester)
Ian McFarlane (Coventry)
Andy Jenkins (South Benfleet)
Chris Lacey (Sheffield)
Robbie Collins (London Victoria)
Barry Lynn (Harlow)
Daniel Day (Norwich)
Callan Rydz (Wolverhampton)
Brian Raman (Liverpool)